Song of Solomon 8:6-10 - "Unquenchable Love"

Song of Solomon 8:6-10

"Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned. We have a little sister, and she hath no breasts: what shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for? If she be a wall, we will build upon her a palace of silver: and if she be a door, we will inclose her with boards of cedar. I am a wall, and my breasts like towers: then was I in his eyes as one that found favour."

Song of Solomon 8:6–10 sets before us a love that cannot be diminished, altered, or extinguished. Solomon, as a type of Christ, and the Shulamite woman, as a picture of the church, present a relationship founded not in worthiness or effort, but in sovereign, unchanging love. This Love is described as unquenchable because it proceeds from God’s eternal purpose and is founded on the finished work of Christ.

In light of Christ’s love for His people, this language speaks of the absolute certainty and efficacy of His redeeming love. To be set as a seal upon His heart signifies being eternally engraved upon Christ’s affections, chosen and loved in Him before the foundation of the world, never to be forgotten or displaced. To be set as a seal upon His arm speaks of His mighty, active love, by which He effectually accomplished redemption, bearing His people in the strength of His saving work at the cross. His love is “strong as death,” in that it carried Him willingly into death itself to redeem His Bride, and as death cannot be resisted, so His love cannot fail or be frustrated.

The “jealousy” of this love reflects His holy zeal to have His people wholly for Himself, tolerating no rival for their salvation or worship. The fire imagery declares the divine origin and fervency of this love, a flame kindled by the LORD Himself, and therefore unquenchable. Many waters cannot quench love, nor can floods drown it. Trials, temptations, persecutions, and even inward accusations cannot extinguish what God has purposed. This love is not rooted in the believer’s strength but in Christ’s obedience. When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit lifts the Standard against him, and that Standard is Christ Himself, lifted up on the cross unto death, buried, raised again, and exalted in glory, as Isaiah 59:19–20 declares. No flood of judgment, suffering, sin, or opposition can extinguish the love wherewith Christ has loved His own, for it is Eternal, Sovereign, and Victorious.  The LORD Jesus Christ in love for His Father and those that the Father gave him from eternity, is the Defense of each one. Every accusation is silenced by His shed blood unto death.

Human love is fickle, easily altered by circumstance or disappointment. Divine love is not. Love strong as death speaks of inevitability and finality. Death claims all; Christ’s love relinquishes none given to Him. It was this eternal love that brought Him into the world and carried Him to the cross. Nothing could deter Him from satisfying God's justice on behalf of His people. That same love now preserves them forever. As Paul declares in Romans 8:37–39, nothing can separate God’s elect from the love that is in Christ Jesus our LORD.

Love cannot be purchased. If one were to offer all the substance of his house for it, it would be utterly despised. The nature of Divine Grace rejects every transaction attempt with man giving something to get in return. Simon Magus learned this in Acts 8, and Paul confessed it in Philippians 3:8–9. Everything that was once counted gain was, in fact, a loss compared to Christ. Love is not earned by sacrifice, zeal, or devotion; it is bestowed freely through the work of the Redeemer.

The Scripture then turns outward (vv. 8,9). The mention of a little sister points beyond Israel to the Gentiles, who would in due time be brought into the same covenant love of God in Christ. The LORD spoke of other sheep, referring to the elected Gentile sinners in John 10:16, declaring one fold and one Shepherd. Their inclusion was not an afterthought, but the eternal purpose of God in Christ fulfilled at the cross. Whether it is a wall or a door, each stone is placed by Christ, the Builder of the true temple, as foretold in Zechariah 6:12 and explained in Ephesians 2:11–22. Christ Himself is the Chief Cornerstone.

At last, the confession is made: "I am a wall...then was I in his eyes as one that found favour." This favor was not discovered by human effort but revealed by the Spirit, Jew and Gentile alike. It existed before faith perceived it, and before love responded to it. Christ’s love preceded all and obtained all in salvation and righteousness before God. This is unquenchable love—unchanging, unpurchased, undefeated—everlasting love accomplished by Christ and applied by the Spirit to the glory of God alone.